Serial passport losers targeted

Australians who repeatedly lose their passports could face fines amid increasing fears that lost or stolen passports could be obtained by terrorists.

About 30,000 Australian passports were lost or stolen last financial year, and only a few were found and returned to Australia's foreign missions.

Some people are losing up to six passports in two years, forcing authorities to investigate whether they are simply forgetful or are selling them.

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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which issues passports, is planning a national education campaign which could start as soon as September. It will ask the country's 7 million passport holders to be more protective of their papers, especially while overseas.

The stolen documents could fall into the hands of terrorists or conmen who could use the travellers' identities to commit fraud.

Advertisements will be displayed at electronic information kiosks at airports, and posters will be displayed at post offices where passport applications are normally made.

Australians will be reminded that they are required to provide evidence of their identity before a new passport can be issued.

If the campaign failed to significantly reduce the number of lost documents, the department could be forced to take other action, said Bob Nash, assistant secretary in the department's passports branch.

The department could impose a sliding scale of fines based on the number of times an individual lost a passport. This penalty would be on top of the already high replacement fee.

Those who lose passports often can also expect increased scrutiny from the department's fraud investigators.

Mr Nash said there were a handful of "serial losers".

Such people were investigated for passport trafficking but they can also turn out to be simply "hopelessly forgetful", he said.

It is estimated that Australians are paying the Federal Government about $4 million annually to have their lost or stolen passports replaced, with about 1 million new passports issued each year.

A replacement fee of $148 is charged for a lost or stolen passport and the bearer is required to provide extensive and time-consuming details to confirm their identity.

Only about 25 per cent of passports are lost or stolen overseas, with many of the 30,000 missing passports falling "down the back of couches" in Australian homes, Mr Nash said.

"The loss of passports does happen and it will happen but it happens all too frequently.

" While there is very little evidence lost or stolen passports are being misused, the potential for that misuse is enormous," he said.

The department is developing a database for use in biometric passports that will improve security. These passports store an encrypted copy of the bearer's digital photograph inside a smartcard.

The conventional passport photo will still be shown but the digital photo can only be read by biometric systems being tested at airports around the world.